Accomplishment Note 4

-- One's hesitations are the surest (reverse) signs of his total interest.

-- Refusal of one who already possesses money or is capable of earning it can be genuine. Prior to such possession or refusal, in the absence of such capacity, it is a toothless tiger taking to vegetarianism.

-- Monetary goal is like an academic degree for one in pursuit of knowledge. Pursuit of knowledge outside the academic channel is no real pursuit, will become evident, if you consider it outside of school.

-- The age-old frown of religion on money is ever-present as a popular sentiment without any reality to it in rationality or in life.

-- Surrender of ego is for those who have one. A good portion of the population has not yet developed ego to shed it. Prior to the formation of individual ego, man is a social being, meaning the individual centre is unformed.

-- No one has the call of God to take to this yoga. Humanity is subconscious for this yoga. In between lies the layers of spiritual, mental, and vital. God is there in the Supramental, man is in the body (subconscious.) At each level of the intervening layers there is a divide of conscious and unconscious. It makes for 6 intervening layers. Man in the 7th layer cannot meaningfully speak of language of the first layer. His doing 'yoga' or not doing yoga are phrases that cannot be related to yoga. So, is the phrase 'monetary goal or its refusal'. Self-improvement programmes are a non-starter because they start at a point where they do not exist. To be able to create a scale with appropriate index will make a man know his position in that scale. Such a scale will be somewhat like the following:

Index

1) Spiritual

+ conscious -- Undisturbed calm, equality and patience

- unconscious -- Their external forms appropriate to worship

2) Mental

+ -- interest in original ideals, rational

- -- interest in facts and reading to gather facts.

3) Vital

+ -- Successful career for his social position

- -- Successful employee under such a man.

4) Physical

+ -- Secure physical survival.

- -- insecure in spite of survival.

The four levels can be subdivided into 40 or 100 with precise definitions understandable by readers and fixed by the defining indices. Index can be further extended to the subtle plane which can fix a person by rasi (Tamil word).

Money is a precise scale the like of which does not exist. Suppose the nations of the world are what they are today and money does not exist, how can you grade them? In a class where there is no exam, no grades, we can imagine what the last boy will claim.

Man is estimated by his achievement and money ensures it.

Money gives a security such as the mother's lap for the child. Even at 30 the mother's lap gives comfort.

-- Money gives status. It is a Divine instrument, valuable in itself.

-- Money is neutral, our attitude can be positive or negative.

-- Sherlock Holmes was not paid at all. In no story you see payment. If one has the same enthusiasm for work that is free service, then money can be disregarded. But he gets heavily paid on occasions he chooses.

-- Service not only in India, but in Europe frowns on payment. Europeans say 'It is an American principle to be paid for knowledge'. Because America took to that principle she prospered. Europe's lip service to ideal kept her behind.

The rule is to know where you are and honour it. Tall talk issues out of incapacity.

-- " No monetary goal" is an invalid ideal when it is real. Its grades are

* conscious mental idealism of capacity

* unconscious vital ideal of ignorance that is below capacity

* 'conscious' self-preservation of primitive physicality passing for an ideal when it is capable.

* -- do -- when it is incapable.

-- 'One is attached to one's disease' says Mother. We are attached to our incapacity.

-- Suppose you both succeed or one with whom he now competes succeeds, will he be complacent.

-- One's disregard for money must be borne out by his daily handling of it.

-- That is a sure index.

-- Let him change to a magnanimous, generous attitude in handling money before he eschews it.

-- There is no difference between knowledge, money, values, joy, power, etc. Sri Aurobindo would call it popular superstition.

-- True disregard of money is evidenced by the present attitude to existing wealth and the potential to acquiring it.